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Organization of the landscape Most visible element of the religious landscape? Places associated with the founder Shrines – Important in the life of Buddha – Miraculous events – Mecca Ka’ba – Remnants of an earlier time (Wailing Wall)

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Continued Churches/Mosques/Temples/Synagogues – Simple to ornate – Icons for some but not others – Pagodas are very ornate – An integral part of the worship; especially for Christians – Churches as the center of a community (literally and figuratively)

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The Hajj Pilgrims circle the holy Kaaba in the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia during the Hajj.

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Contested Space West Bank/Jerusalem – Western (Wailing Wall): remnants of a temple destroyed 2000 years ago – Dome of the Rock; Al Asqa Mosque – Church of the Holy Sepulchre Ancient Buddha images in Afghanistan

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Sacred Sites of Jerusalem Jerusalem is sacred to three major religions: Judaism (Western Wall) Christianity (Church of the Holy Sepulchre) Islam (Dome of the Rock)

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Other landscape influences Burial of the dead – How soon after death – Cemeteries Various types Annual remembrance days Day of the Dead – Cremation – Above ground/ornate to simple – Mausoleums (Taj Mahal) Place names – California missions Hierarchical structure – Substantial to nonexistent Religious calendar – Around spiritual founder – Around the seasons – Represent historic events in the life of the religion – Easter: first Sunday after the first full moon that falls on or after the vernal equinox

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Religious based conflicts Religious conflict as an extension of ethnic conflicts since religion is an integral part of ethnicity Fundamentalism (strict, perhaps literal, interpretations of ones principals) Different from extremism – Reject secular tendencies – Doctrinal conformity – Found in every dominant religion Governments: secular vs religious based – Religion as a basic structure of government Saudi Arabia/Iran Theocracy Islamic Republic of ….. – Secular governments in the Islamic world are rare Turkey, Indonesia, Algeria, …. – Some governments ban religion entirely – communist states – All others somewhere in between Secular systems base on a particular religion Secularism codified

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Conflicts as a result of social structures – Caste system – Role of women Conflicting beliefs in a country – India – Northern Ireland – North Africa (Sahel) Contested geography – Israel and Palestine – Crusades – Emotions strong Assassinations

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The West Bank with a the proposed security wall, parts of which the Israeli government has already built.